This text appeared in MAYHEM--a PC demo-disk magazine.

->July 12, 1993
Life Stories-->Title: Taste of the Real World
By:  Dan Wright

My purpose in writing this piece is to inform people of my current situation.
Demos are not going to bring me an electrical related career like it may a
programming career for some.  I have not "oriented" my life toward a "career"
objective like many people do.  I prefer to do things I enjoy and if it makes
me more appealing for a job then great, but if it doesn't then so be it.  Too
much emphasis has been placed on LIVING for your career and not enough has
been placed on "doing what you want" whether or not it fits into your career
path.  Life is more then a dollar sign, and it is more than working for
survival.  In the whole scheme of things most of us have lost sight of what
life is really about.  This and other articles will hopefully give you an idea
of what to look forward to in life--conforming to reality or not.

Everybody has a different definition of the "real world."  To me the real
world means being self-supportive and living away from your parents--
independent.  For most of us (in the US) the first taste of the "real world"
comes when we begin the search for a job that marks the beginning of our
independence and start of a career.  And in the "real world" life does not
shower you with meaning and happiness while you wait for your moment of glory.
The colors ARE less intense, the people are uglier, and mundane days are
typical contrary to the "real world" MTV likes to present.  Yes, the REAL
WORLD is beyond that door over there and this is the beginning of mine.

With graduation behind and BSEE degree in hand it is my time to slip from
school to working clothes.  Five years of toil in the institution of higher
learning has landed me a "can't lose" Engineering degree.  Or so I would tend
to believe.

Thousands of job hunting and how to write resume books only add to my
confusion of a must-do job search process.  Books along with everyones
pessimistic attitude on our depressing job market add additional burden to the
nightmare.  With every company demanding GOD as their employee it is no wonder
everyone has this pessimistic attitude about the job search process.  It is a
world of "networking," interviewing, talking to as many people in your field
as possible, calling, searching, researching, dealing, talking smooth, and
knowing what to say and when to say it.  Yes, nowadays it does not matter what
you know because it's who you know that counts.  The process almost seems fun-
-if your a socially fun-loving person with lots of friends, contacts, and
money.  But for many of us it becomes a self-hating project that turns us
inside out.  In fact it is a game and the person best equip will "win."

Being in the middle of a hob hunt I think about these things on a daily basis.
Add to that the confusion of job hunting books, my long distance job search,
and my coy personality, and it is easy to envision me being caught up in the
pessimism.  Wallowing around in self pity certainly does not help on the road
to getting a job.  But hey, it's all a part of the way our system (over here)
is set up.  This is "Capitalism" at its best and a lot of people love it.  I
sure hope you folks in Europe do not have to contend with the grueling three
month (average) period to finding a job like me.

A person once said to me "you have a choice, you can make life easy or hard."
Though it seems to me the only way to make life easy is to abandon the system-
-like the person who said this to me.  I believe however, we need to make the
system more people friendly which will directly make life a little easier.
This simply means offering help to everyone.  A system of equality and justice
for all.

Many people do not like to hear me/others complain about problems because it
opens the wounds of pessimism.  To me pointing out the problems is the first
step in dealing with them.  In turn this will help bring about a better
tomorrow.

The technological advances we have made over the years have brought us further
apart.  I am grateful of technology we have gained but despise it when the
friendliness/togetherness of the people are sacrificed.  So, as I continue
searching and traveling for that perfect job I can only hope that I will
obtain one that will help bring us closer instead of drawing us further apart.